Acan Lord care guide
Acan Lord (Micromussa lordhowensis) — reef coral, 24-26 °C, PAR 75-175, salinity 1.024-1.026.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Micromussa lordhowensis (formerly Acanthastrea lordhowensis) is a highly prized encrusting LPS native to Australia. The fleshy polyps display intense colour combinations, and designer morphs are among the most expensive corals in the reef trade.
Taxonomy
- Family: Lobophylliidae
- Genus: Micromussa
- Scientific name: Micromussa lordhowensis
- Common synonyms: Lord Acan, Acanthastrea lordhowensis
Habitat
Endemic to the south-western Pacific around eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island. Wild colonies occupy reef slopes and overhangs at moderate to deep light levels.
Tank requirements
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- Salinity (SG): 1.024-1.026
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- Alkalinity (dKH): 8-11
- Calcium: 400-450 ppm
- Magnesium: 1280-1350 ppm
- Phosphate (max): 0.03 ppm
- Nitrate (max): 5 ppm
Placement and lighting
- Lighting (PAR): 75-175 PAR
- Flow: medium
- Recommended tank age: 3 months
- Growth rate: 0.2-0.5 cm/mo
Mount on rockwork in the middle of the aquarium. Moderate light is essential — strong direct light bleaches colour, while too little light reduces tissue inflation. Medium flow keeps the surface clean.
Feeding
Photosynthetic with strong response to spot-feeding. Mysis, reef-roids and amino-acid supplements one to two times per week support colour and tissue growth.
Compatibility
Moderately aggressive — short sweeper tentacles can extend at night. Maintain a small buffer from neighbouring corals. Reef-safe with shrimp and fish.
Care notes
Designer morphs are valuable; quarantine new frags and dip in coral-safe iodine to prevent introducing nudibranchs and other pests. Stable parameters protect colour.
Micromussa lordhowensis (Acan Lord) Propagation Guide
Overview
Micromussa lordhowensis is the coral long known in the hobby as the Acan Lord. It is a large-polyp stony coral in the family Lobophylliidae, originally described under Acanthastrea and reclassified into Micromussa by Arrigoni et al. in 2016 because its uniform circular polyps, copious fleshy tissue and finely beaded texture match Micromussa more closely than Acanthastrea. It is a colonial coral built of many fleshy corallites.
Reproductive Mode
The reclassification grouped Lords and other Micromussa as more closely related to each other than to the Bowerbanki, Hillae and Echinata acans. As a colony of uniform corallites, each holding one polyp, it propagates asexually by dividing the colony into multi-polyp pieces.
Fragging / Asexual Propagation
Acans such as Micromussa are cut with a band saw around the polyps; a typical frag is about two to four polyps. The base is cut flat, then the frag is glued to a plug to heal and encrust, and the cut is kept thick enough to avoid slicing into the living polyp. Because Lords are high-value corals, single-polyp and small multi-polyp frags are commonly produced.
Conditions for Propagation
Cut frags recover best with stable parameters, moderate flow and moderate light in a mature system. Regular feeding speeds tissue growth over the wound and onto the plug, while clean, low-nutrient water reduces infection risk.
Common Challenges
The main hazards are cutting into living tissue, leaving frags too thin, and tissue recession or infection in poor water after cutting. Low flow until the wound seals and stable conditions during recovery minimize losses on these valuable corals.